Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFINX)

TotalReturn:

'Total return is the amount of value an investor earns from a security over a specific period, typically one year, when all distributions are reinvested. Total return is expressed as a percentage of the amount invested. For example, a total return of 20% means the security increased by 20% of its original value due to a price increase, distribution of dividends (if a stock), coupons (if a bond) or capital gains (if a fund). Total return is a strong measure of an investment’s overall performance.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (133.2%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return of 133.7% of Vanguard 500 Index Fund is larger, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the total return is 80.7%, which is larger, thus better than the value of 80.4% from the benchmark.

CAGR:

'Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period. CAGR is not an accounting term, but it is often used to describe some element of the business, for example revenue, units delivered, registered users, etc. CAGR dampens the effect of volatility of periodic returns that can render arithmetic means irrelevant. It is particularly useful to compare growth rates from various data sets of common domain such as revenue growth of companies in the same industry.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (18.5%) in the period of the last 5 years, the annual return (CAGR) of 18.6% of Vanguard 500 Index Fund is higher, thus better.
• Looking at annual return (CAGR) in of 21.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (21.8%).

Volatility:

'Volatility is a rate at which the price of a security increases or decreases for a given set of returns. Volatility is measured by calculating the standard deviation of the annualized returns over a given period of time. It shows the range to which the price of a security may increase or decrease. Volatility measures the risk of a security. It is used in option pricing formula to gauge the fluctuations in the returns of the underlying assets. Volatility indicates the pricing behavior of the security and helps estimate the fluctuations that may happen in a short period of time.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (18.7%) in the period of the last 5 years, the volatility of 19.1% of Vanguard 500 Index Fund is larger, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (22.4%) in the period of the last 3 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 22.9% is higher, thus worse.

DownVol:

'The downside volatility is similar to the volatility, or standard deviation, but only takes losing/negative periods into account.'

• Looking at the downside volatility of 13.8% in the last 5 years of Vanguard 500 Index Fund, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (13.6%)
• Looking at downside volatility in of 16.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (16.2%).

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio (also known as the Sharpe index, the Sharpe measure, and the reward-to-variability ratio) is a way to examine the performance of an investment by adjusting for its risk. The ratio measures the excess return (or risk premium) per unit of deviation in an investment asset or a trading strategy, typically referred to as risk, named after William F. Sharpe.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.85) in the period of the last 5 years, the Sharpe Ratio of 0.84 of Vanguard 500 Index Fund is smaller, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (0.86) in the period of the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) of 0.84 is lower, thus worse.

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio improves upon the Sharpe ratio by isolating downside volatility from total volatility by dividing excess return by the downside deviation. The Sortino ratio is a variation of the Sharpe ratio that differentiates harmful volatility from total overall volatility by using the asset's standard deviation of negative asset returns, called downside deviation. The Sortino ratio takes the asset's return and subtracts the risk-free rate, and then divides that amount by the asset's downside deviation. The ratio was named after Frank A. Sortino.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (1.18) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 1.16 of Vanguard 500 Index Fund is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at excess return divided by the downside deviation in of 1.17 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (1.19).

Ulcer:

'Ulcer Index is a method for measuring investment risk that addresses the real concerns of investors, unlike the widely used standard deviation of return. UI is a measure of the depth and duration of drawdowns in prices from earlier highs. Using Ulcer Index instead of standard deviation can lead to very different conclusions about investment risk and risk-adjusted return, especially when evaluating strategies that seek to avoid major declines in portfolio value (market timing, dynamic asset allocation, hedge funds, etc.). The Ulcer Index was originally developed in 1987. Since then, it has been widely recognized and adopted by the investment community. According to Nelson Freeburg, editor of Formula Research, Ulcer Index is “perhaps the most fully realized statistical portrait of risk there is.'

• Looking at the Downside risk index of 5.61 in the last 5 years of Vanguard 500 Index Fund, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (5.59 )
• During the last 3 years, the Ulcer Ratio is 6.38 , which is higher, thus worse than the value of 6.36 from the benchmark.

MaxDD:

'Maximum drawdown measures the loss in any losing period during a fund’s investment record. It is defined as the percent retrenchment from a fund’s peak value to the fund’s valley value. The drawdown is in effect from the time the fund’s retrenchment begins until a new fund high is reached. The maximum drawdown encompasses both the period from the fund’s peak to the fund’s valley (length), and the time from the fund’s valley to a new fund high (recovery). It measures the largest percentage drawdown that has occurred in any fund’s data record.'

• The maximum drop from peak to valley over 5 years of Vanguard 500 Index Fund is -33.8 days, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (-33.7 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of -33.8 days is smaller, thus worse.

MaxDuration:

'The Drawdown Duration is the length of any peak to peak period, or the time between new equity highs. The Max Drawdown Duration is the worst (the maximum/longest) amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs). Many assume Max DD Duration is the length of time between new highs during which the Max DD (magnitude) occurred. But that isn’t always the case. The Max DD duration is the longest time between peaks, period. So it could be the time when the program also had its biggest peak to valley loss (and usually is, because the program needs a long time to recover from the largest loss), but it doesn’t have to be'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (139 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum days below previous high of 139 days of Vanguard 500 Index Fund is larger, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (119 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 119 days is greater, thus worse.

AveDuration:

'The Drawdown Duration is the length of any peak to peak period, or the time between new equity highs. The Avg Drawdown Duration is the average amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs), or in other terms the average of time under water of all drawdowns. So in contrast to the Maximum duration it does not measure only one drawdown event but calculates the average of all.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (32 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days below previous high of 32 days of Vanguard 500 Index Fund is greater, thus worse.
• Compared with SPY (25 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days below previous high of 25 days is greater, thus worse.